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Via Christi nurse’s career choice inspired by his grandfather

Like his grandfather before him, Cody Forsberg, a registered nurse in Via Christi's Regional Burn Center and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Via Christi Hospital St. Francis, earned degrees in Nursing from Wichita State University.

And although his grandfather died when Cody was just 5 years old, he says it was the family stories about him that taught him compassion and would later inspire him to become a nurse.

“Getting into nursing was a big deal for my grandpa because he knew he could do a lot of good and help a lot of people that way, and that’s what I want to do with my life,” Cody says.

When Cody earned his bachelor’s degree in Nursing in 2010, his grandmother gave him his late grandfather’s nursing pin, which he carried with him when graduated from WSU again in December, this time with his doctorate in Nursing.

Earning his doctorate, he says, was simply the next step in his professional journey as a nurse, which he says requires being prepared to give of your mental and physical self to somebody in need.

"It's really about sacrificing everything about yourself to help others," he says, putting aside your own thoughts and emotions so that all your energy can be focused on caring for your patient.

On the flip side, he finds fulfillment in seeing his patients recover over time.

“Many of our patients in the Burn Center end up staying in the ICU for weeks or months, so it’s rewarding to see them move on to rehab and go home," he says. "When they come in a year or two down the road in way better shape than when they first came in, it feels amazing.”

Now that Cody has his doctorate, he’s hoping to transition to a family nurse practitioner role within Via Christi.

“I want to keep honoring my grandfather and keep continuing what he started.”